Chapter 1402 - Cooperation

Sun Xiao wasn't the slightest bit surprised to be recognized. He released his aura without restraint and said calmly, "I am. How dare you hunt my junior brother! You can all die here!"

"Sun Xiao, we have four experts at the Earth Immortal Realm, and you only have two. We might not necessarily lose in a fight against you two," Shi Yuan said, though his tone no longer carried the same overbearing edge as before. If his opponent had been any other Earth Immortal, he would have dared to gamble, but this time, he faced Sun Xiao, the Heavenly Dragon Sect's chief disciple.

The confrontation fell into a stalemate. With Sun Xiao's breakthrough to the Earth Immortal Realm, both sides now stood on more even ground with four against two. However, Shi Yuan's side still had many experts at the pinnacle of the Void Realm, and on the surface, they still held the advantage.

Even so, Sun Xiao had already reached the second-level Earth Immortal Realm and was the chief disciple of the Heavenly Dragon Sect's sect master. Aside from the dozen or so experts from the Grand Unity Sect, the other cultivators on that side had no desire to make an enemy out of Sun Xiao.

"Elder Shi, can you hear me out?" Liu Wuxie cut in just as Sun Xiao was about to speak.

Sun Xiao immediately looked over in curiosity, wanting to know what his junior brother intended to say.

No one present dared to look down on Liu Wuxie anymore. Back in the sevenfold heaven, he had toyed with all of them. Nearly seven thousand people had entered, yet only a few hundred remained alive.

"Speak," Shi Yuan said, waving his hand impatiently.

"I believe everyone knows that this place is called Celestial Immortal Star by now. This planet is inhabited by the loulan race, and it's difficult for humans like us to survive. Doesn't everyone want to go back home?" Liu Wuxie asked, sweeping his gaze across the crowd.

Everyone fell silent at his words, each lost in thought. They all knew this planet belonged to the loulan race and that returning would not be easy. If they ended up trapped here for life, killing Liu Wuxie would do them no good.

Even the elders of the Grand Unity Sect fell silent. If they couldn't return to the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain, then their loyalty to the sect would lose all meaning. The sect would never know, even if they killed Liu Wuxie.

"Liu Wuxie, what are you trying to say?" asked the Earth Immortal who had attacked Liu Wuxie earlier; his name was Luan Xiuwen.

"You've all entered the Celestial Immortal Star the way I did—through the sevenfold heaven. Since that's the case, there must be a way back to the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain. My proposal is for us to drop our grudges and join forces to find a way back home," Liu Wuxie said. He hoped they could set their feud aside for now and only be at each other's throats again once they returned.

"Junior brother, that's unwise! The Grand Unity Sect is too ambitious for us to work with them," Sun Xiao said, sending a voice transmission to Liu Wuxie.

"Senior brother, please calm down for now," Liu Wuxie replied. He naturally knew that cooperating with the Grand Unity Sect was risky, but they had no better option. They might have gathered a few hundred people already, yet they were all ordinary cultivators, and not a single one of them had reached the Earth Immortal Realm.

If they could cooperate with the group before them, Liu Wuxie at least had no personal feud with the cultivators who weren't from the Grand Unity Sect. As long as the Grand Unity Sect agreed to his proposal, he believed the others wouldn't refuse.

Most importantly, Gong Gong had fallen into a deep slumber, his power completely drained by that last strike. If a battle broke out now, Liu Wuxie knew their chances of victory would be slim.

Sun Xiao naturally felt reluctant to cooperate with the Grand Unity Sect, and the Grand Unity Sect had no desire to work with them either. After all, the two great powers had always been at odds.

"Liu Wuxie, you two want to work together with so many of us? That's a well-thought-out plan," Luan Xiuwen said coldly. In his eyes, Liu Wuxie was trying to make use of them, and they would have to guard themselves against someone as sly as him.

"To be frank, I have already gathered a few hundred people, and I can also control the Blackwind Beasts. That's my leverage, and it's entirely up to you if you want to work with me," Liu Wuxie replied. He couldn't be bothered to waste words on them and had no intention of begging if they weren't willing.

He deliberately played the tactic of feigning indifference to pull them in. If he lowered himself too much, they would only assume he was pleading for their help.

When they heard that Liu Wuxie could control Blackwind Beasts, many of their expressions changed. They began to realize that if they cooperated with him, they might have a chance of finding a way back home.

The reason they hadn't already attacked Liu Wuxie lay in their fear of Sun Xiao and the terrifying existence residing within Liu Wuxie's body.

"Liu Wuxie, we don't trust someone as cunning as a fox like you," Luan Xiuwen said, voicing what many others thought. Their trust in Liu Wuxie was thin at best since they had fallen into his traps more than once.

"I can swear upon my soul that I'm sincerely trying to cooperate with you all until we leave the Celestial Immortal Star. If I break my oath, may heaven and earth obliterate me," Liu Wuxie replied, going so far as to swear upon his soul.

Many people's faces changed when they heard Liu Wuxie's oath, and they began quietly discussing the possibility among themselves. Even so, they understood that his oath only bound him while they remained on the Celestial Immortal Star and would become void the moment they returned.

The Grand Unity Sect experts also started discussing among themselves. They had already been trapped here for half a month and had long since grown anxious about their inability to find a way back, though they hid it well.

They had seen Liu Wuxie's monstrous talent and performance in the sevenfold heaven with their own eyes. If they cooperated with him, there might be a sliver of hope for their return.

"Liu Wuxie, I can also swear upon my soul that I will cooperate with you until we leave the Celestial Immortal Star. We will not attack each other, and may I be killed by heaven and earth if I break my oath," said an expert at the pinnacle of the Void Realm, taking the oath before Liu Wuxie.

After all, he had no personal feud with Liu Wuxie, and he saw no hope following only the Grand Unity Sect. Naturally, he was willing to cooperate with Liu Wuxie.

With someone taking the lead, more people stepped forward, one after another, to swear their allegiance to Liu Wuxie. A few minutes later, only twenty-odd people had yet to make up their minds, and their gazes kept drifting toward the Grand Unity Sect experts, while more than a hundred cultivators were already standing behind Liu Wuxie.

"Elder Shi, do you really not want to go back and instead stay in the Celestial Immortal Star for the rest of your life?" Liu Wuxie asked with a faint smile as he looked over at Shi Yuan's group, offering them a way out.

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Liu Wuxie, can you really find the way back home?" Shi Yuan asked. His tone, however, had grown hoarse compared to before. If they couldn't return to the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain, they would eventually die on this planet, and that was not a fate they desired.

"The way home is something we have to carve out ourselves. Do you really think the path might appear if we sit here and wait?" Liu Wuxie scoffed. Even he wasn't entirely sure they could find a way back, and he couldn't offer any guarantees.

"Very well. We're willing to cooperate, but we will be taking the lead in this," Shi Yuan said, laying down his condition. After all, whoever took the lead would command everyone.

"That, I cannot agree to. Since you want to cooperate with me, you naturally have to listen to me. If anyone dares to disobey, they will be punished by heaven and earth," Liu Wuxie said. He had his own bottom line. If he let the Grand Unity Sect seize command, the situation would quickly spiral out of control.

"That's impossible! Are we supposed to nod our heads if you order us to throw our lives away?" Shi Yuan refuted. The conversation had become a negotiation, both sides probing the other's bottom line. Whoever endured to the end would win this contest.

"You belittle me, Liu Wuxie. Since I've offered to cooperate, we will naturally rise and fall as one. I will discuss the plan with everyone in every operation, and we will only act with more than half agreement," Liu Wuxie replied, showing his sincerity. His words made it clear he had no intention of becoming a dictator within the group.

"Elder Shi, let's just agree to it. We've all witnessed Liu Wuxie's talent, and perhaps he might really be able to bring us back home," Luan Wenxiu said, turning his vote toward Liu Wuxie.

It was ironic that he had attacked Liu Wuxie earlier and was now persuading Shi Yuan to accept his terms. But he wasn't alone. Other cultivators also stepped forward to persuade the Grand Unity Sect.

If Liu Wuxie withdrew his offer, it would be impossible for those dozens of people to find their way back on their own. Even if they did find the path, they wouldn't be able to contend with the loulan race.

"Fine. We're willing to cooperate," Shi Yuan said at last, representing the Grand Unity Sect after consulting everyone's opinion.

Once everyone finished taking their oaths with their souls, Liu Wuxie finally let out a quiet breath of relief.

As for Sun Xiao, he remained silent since his junior brother had already made up his mind. In any case, their chances would improve now that they could work together.

"Since we're one group now, let's put our feud aside for the time being. If anyone brings it up again, don't blame me for what I'll do," Liu Wuxie said in a much sterner tone, releasing a terrifying aura of authority that even made the faces of the Earth Immortal Realm experts change.

"This Liu Wuxie is born to lead. He knows exactly when to be lenient and when to be harsh," whispered the crowd.

Liu Wuxie had a keen grasp of human nature. The moment his words fell, everyone with their own schemes brewing in the shadows immediately scrapped those thoughts.

"Blood fiends, are you interested in joining us?" Liu Wuxie asked, turning his gaze toward the blood fiends.

Even after Sun Xiao had killed more than twenty of them, seventy to eighty blood fiends remained—a force no one could afford to ignore.

"Human, can you guarantee our safety?" asked the leader of the blood fiends. He could only watch his own clansmen die, powerless to intervene.

When he learned Sun Xiao's name, he looked at him with undisguised fear. The blood fiends understood better than humans that Sun Xiao had sworn to kill a million of their kind, and no blood fiend could remain calm upon hearing his name. That was why he had hesitated to cooperate until now.

"Don't worry about it. We won't make things hard for you as long as you don't betray the group," Liu Wuxie replied, giving his promise.

"Alright. I'll agree on the cooperation," said the leader. He knew that the blood fiends were inferior to humans in intelligence and that they would have a higher chance of returning home if they cooperated.

Just like that, Liu Wuxie used his wits to recruit a large force, and he secretly laughed with satisfaction to himself.

"Liu Wuxie, what do we do next?" asked an expert at the pinnacle of the Void Realm.

"We'll head to the rendezvous point first and discuss how to infiltrate Loulan City to save the prisoners," Liu Wuxie replied. He laid out the general plan, but many people visibly hesitated when they heard they would have to enter Loulan City to save the captives.

However, through Liu Wuxie's patient analysis, they came to understand that even if the few hundred of them managed to find a way back on their own, they still wouldn't be able to accomplish anything. Only by uniting every force they could gather would they gain a genuine chance.

After his explanation, everyone gradually came around. Even Liu Wuxie wasn't afraid to try, so what reason did they have to cower?

Surprisingly, Shi Yuan didn't object to Liu Wuxie's plan; instead, he voiced his support. After all, the Grand Unity Sect also had many of their own captives in the hands of the loulan race. Aside from the Heavenly Dragon Sect, the Grand Unity Sect had also sent people to the Blood Fiend Battlefield, just like Sun Xiao, to hunt blood fiends.